annieb123's Review of The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Chemistry for Kids (The Kitchen Pantry Scientist)

by Liz Lee Heinecke

* 2021 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books in Middle Grade Longlist
* 2021 NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book
* 2021 EUREKA! Nonfiction Children’s Honor Book

Aspiring young chemists will discover an amazing group of role models and memorable experiments in Chemistry for Kids, the debut book of The Kitchen Pantry Scientist series.

Replicate a chemical reaction similar to one Marie Curie used to purify radioactive elements. Distill perfume using a method created in ancient Mesopotamia by a woman named Tapputi.

This engaging guide offers a series of snapshots of 25 scientists famous for their work with chemistry, from ancient history through today. Each lab tells the story of a scientist along with some background about the importance of their work, and a description of where it is still being used or reflected in today’s world.

A step-by-step illustrated experiment paired with each story offers kids a hands-on opportunity for exploring concepts the scientists pursued, or are working on today. Experiments range from very simple projects using materials you probably already have on hand, to more complicated ones that may require a few inexpensive items you can purchase online. Just a few of the incredible people and scientific concepts you’ll explore:

Galen (b. 129 AD)
Make soap from soap base, oil, and citrus peels.
Modern application: medical disinfectants

Joseph Priestly (b. 1733)
Carbonate a beverage using CO2 from yeast or baking soda and vinegar mixture.
Modern application: soda fountains

Alessandra Volta (b. 1745)
Make a battery using a series of lemons and use it to light an LED.
Modern application: car battery

Tu Youyou (b. 1930)
Extract compounds from plants.
Modern application: pharmaceuticals and cosmetics

People have been tinkering with chemistry for thousands of years. Whether out of curiosity or by necessity, Homo sapiens have long loved to play with fire: mixing and boiling concoctions to see what interesting, beautiful, and useful amalgamations they could create. Early humans ground pigments to create durable paint for cave walls, and over the next 70 thousand years or so as civilizations took hold around the globe, people learned to make better medicines and discovered how to extract, mix, and smelt metals for cooking vessels, weapons, and jewelry. Early chemists distilled perfume, made soap, and perfected natural inks and dyes.

Modern chemistry was born around 250 years ago, when measurement, mathematics, and the scientific method were officially applied to experimentation. In 1896, after the first draft of the periodic table was published, scientists rushed to fill in the blanks. The elemental discoveries that followed gave scientists the tools to visualize the building blocks of matter for the first time in history, and they proceeded to deconstruct the atom. Since then, discovery has accelerated at an unprecedented rate. At times, modern chemistry and its creations have caused heartbreaking, unthinkable harm, but more often than not, it makes our lives better.

With this fascinating, hands-on exploration of the history of chemistry, inspire the next generation of great scientists.

Dig into even more incredible science history from The Kitchen Pantry Scientist series with: Biology for Kids, Physics for Kids, Math for Kids, and Ecology for Kids.

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: Chemistry for Kids is a fun and accessible STEAM book for young learners (really, all ages including adults) by Liz Heinecke. Due out 5th May 2020 from Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

The format of this book is appealingly different. Readers are given a short biography of an iconic scientist (Preistly, Curie, Ada Yonath, Alice Ball, and many more). The lab part of each chapter allows students to recreate similar experiments to the ones for which the scientists are well known.

The illustrations are colorful and engaging. The photography is top notch - clear and well formatted. The lab exercises are well written and the underlying theory is well explained in layman/kid accessible language. Safety is paramount and the parts which need adult supervision are clearly delineated. The ingredients and tools used in the labs are easily accessible and inexpensive.

I've been hammering on since the early days of my blog on the importance of STEAM education for our youngsters because they're the next generation of doctors, researchers, engineers, artists, and teachers. It's nice to see books which are fun and worthwhile - this one definitely is. The author's choice of scientists was also a pleasant surprise and there will be a number of them who are likely unfamiliar to most readers.

In these days of home-schooling and social distancing, keeping the learning process fun and fresh can be daunting. This books is an entertaining and valuable resource in the toolbox.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Chemistry for Kids (The Kitchen Pantry Scientist)

by Liz Lee Heinecke

Reviewed by annieb123 on May 3, 2020

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